Sexuality in aging.

Abstract

Men and women in the United States are living longer (National Center for Health Statistics, 2011). Between 2000 and 2007, life expectancy increased by 1 year for those over the age of 65 years (National Center for Health Statistics, 2011). With more total years and more healthy years (National Center for Health Statistics, 2011), the sex lives of individuals also may be extending. It is surprising, however, that an increase in life expectancy has not produced more research on the sexual experiences of older adults (Schick et al., 2010). The gap in the literature may exist for a number of reasons. First, there is a lack of large surveys focusing on individuals over 50 years of age. National studies on sexuality often have limited their population scope to people less than 50 years of age and have excluded aging populations (Herbenick et al., 2010b). When older individuals are included, they frequently are treated as one group-65 years and older. Second, a cultural stigma is associated with the topic. People do not like to talk about their grandparents' (or for that matter, their parents') sex lives. Many people, and it seems many researchers, would rather assume sex is not happening among the middle-aged, and certainly not among the elderly. Even though the 1948 Kinsey Report and subsequent research has shown quite a bit of sexual activity after age 50, there seems to be a lack of interest in either the causes or consequences of sexual behavior from middle age onward. Third, much of the current research on sexuality has been tied to understanding either fertility or disease and not much else. Because fertility is a less common issue among most people over 50 years in the United States, and disease profiles have been comparatively low in these age-groups, the National Institutes of Health have not made funding studies on the aged a priority.These reasons go a long way to explain why, until very recently, little research has been conducted about the sex lives of older individuals. The lack of research has been frustrating to many medical and behavioral researchers and some writers, like Butler and Lewis, who described later life sexuality as surrounded by a "mythology fed by misinformation" (1993, p. 3; see also Wiley & Bortz, 1996). This chapter seeks to remove the mythical nature of the topic.The discussion about sexuality and aging begins with the acknowledgment that being "older" has changed. Certainly, health issues still affect sexuality, and these problems can and should be taken into account (see Chapter 21, this volume). But the culture of how sexuality is experienced by people older than 50, 60, 70, and beyond is fundamentally different. First, sexual capability has expanded to later and later in the life cycle. The availability of prescription medications to enhance sexual performance and an increasing range of "sexual enhancement products" (e.g., vibrators, artificial lubricants, and herbal arousal concoctions), coupled with cultural messages that raise expectations for sexual activity in later life, a...

Mechanisms underlying the association between perceived discrepancy in sexual interest and sexual satisfaction among partnered older adults in four European countries

“…Nevertheless, there are also challenges related specifically to late-life sexuality (Schwartz et al 2014). Older age can affect sexual satisfaction and sexual well-being through poorer general health, age-related chronic diseases, diminished sexual function, and/or psychological factors (Field et al 2013;Laumann et al 2006;Rosen et al 2016;Schick et al 2010;Syme et al 2013;Traeen et al 2017a).…”

The role of body image in sexual satisfaction among partnered older adults: a population-based study in four European countries

“…Research has documented a robust association between frequency of sexual activity and sexual satisfaction in both women and men (e.g., Costa and Brody, 2012;McNulty et al, 2016;Traeen et al, 2017). Intercourse frequency, which is the most studied type of sexual activity, is largely determined among older adults by having a regular partner (Schwartz et al, 2014). Despite a generally reduced frequency of sexual activity with increasing age, a corresponding reduction in sexual satisfaction is not always found (Byers and Rehman, 2014;Forbes et al, 2017).…”

“…Levels of body satisfaction seem to remain relatively stable through mid-and later life (Tiggemann and Slevec, 2012), although some studies have shown a slight decrease in body satisfaction with increasing age (Schwartz et al, 2014). The observed relative stability in body satisfaction may be somewhat surprising, considering the changes in appearance in older age.…”

Are Older Adults Well Sexually? Sexual Well-Being among a Cross-National Sample of Older Adults

“…SWB from birth to the end of the fertile period is a well-researched subject in the social sciences. SWB and sexual development in old age, however, has received much less attention (DeLamater, 2012;Schwartz, Diefendorf & McGlynn-Wright, 2014); this is due to the widely held belief that older adults are asexual (Kenny, 2013). Moreover, late life sexuality has been often regarded as a medical and specialist research topic (Gott & Hinchliff, 2003).…”